noun🎓 English idiom

chit-chat

casual, light, informal conversation

What it means

Chit-chat refers to small talk about unimportant topics, the kind of light social conversation people have at parties, in elevators, or while waiting. It can also be a verb describing the act of having such a casual chat.

Examples

  • We made polite chit-chat until the host arrived.
  • Enough chit-chat, let's get back to work.
  • They chit-chatted about the weather for ten minutes.
  • She avoided office chit-chat and went straight to her desk.

Where it comes from

A reduplication of 'chat,' first recorded in the early 1700s. The doubled form suggests the back-and-forth, trivial nature of small talk.

Related idioms

#okey-dokey#hanky-panky#easy-peasy#tip-top

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